Big Cajun Man reports inflation figures each month, and this makes me reflect on how I see inflation differently from how I saw it in the past. Like most people, I used to think that inflation means the things I buy are becoming more expensive. However, if we think of the things we buy as having constant value, then what is happening is that dollars are becoming less valuable. Thinking this way is important for investors so they see their returns in real (after inflation) terms. For example, few people who think this way would see the logic of buying an annuity that pays out a constant number of dollars each month for decades. Why would you want payments that are worth progressively less each month?

My Own Advisor has a financial blogosphere version of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Gail Vaz-Oxlade describes research into how men and women react to risk and uncertainty. In contrast to other findings where women seem better than men at investing, the results of this research don’t look too good for the women.Million Dollar Journey has Frugal Trader’s latest net worth update that nicely illustrates the kinds of life changes that are possible when you have substantial savings.

The Blunt Bean Counter has a checklist for your year-end financial cleanup. One interesting suggestion to make things easier is to get your health care providers like physiotherapists and such to give you a year-end summary of all your spending.